Leading neuroscientists believe that the UK Government may be about to sanction the development of nerve agents for British police that would be banned in warfare under an international treaty on chem...

Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election".

The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months, 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple!The people demanded it. That was in 1971 - before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land - all because of public pressure.Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn askeach of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011:

1. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they're out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make thiscontract with Congressmen/women. Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receivethe message. Don't you think it's time?

I was having a discussion with a co-worker, who is VERY hawkish, pro-Fox News and ultra-libertarian. In his favor, he's not racist, and has no problem with other religions that I'm aware of. But the first three make for sparks between us.

We got into it about the use of pepper spray, and I tried to explain that the way pepper spray is being used, it is illegal. Officers are supposed to use coercion first, baton next. They are NOT allowed to use pepper spray unless they are under threat of violence, such as brandishing a weapon like a club or making threats of physical violence. If they're in immediate danger, such as faced with a gun or knife, they can use lethal force.

The baton, I explained, can be used as a control device. When applied in a control hold, the baton causes extreme pain unless the perp moves in the direction you want them to. Ergo, up off your butt, and towards the cruiser or paddy wagon. If you comply, it's merely uncomfortable. If you resist, it's pure agony. However, the key point is that compliance means NO PAIN, or cessation of pain upon compliance.

I pointed out that the 9th Circuit decided in Lundberg vs Humboldt County, where officers used pepper spray against non-violent, non-cooperative protesters, officers were found to be both liable-both civil and criminal-for prosecution and lawsuit by the protesters. The previous, lower-court decision to grant immunity to the officers was vacated under the premise that application of pepper spray, in such a manner, constituted excessive use of force AND torture.

At which point, my co-worker says, "Oh, I bet you think waterboarding is torture!"

Oh God. I'd hit gold. Gold, diamonds and a death-by-chocolate cake with a bacon sandwich on the side.

My heart started fluttering in excitement, but I kept my composure. I knew I had him on this one. We went back and forth for a bit, discussing the finer points of how torture is effective (his idea), and how it's not (mine). I said, "You give me five minutes, and I will get you to renounce God and embrace Satan as your Lord and Master." He scoffed at that, and said, "That's bullshit."

I asked, "So do you embrace Satan as your Lord and Master?"

He shouted, "If I were being waterboarded, I'd tell them whatever they wanted!"

blink-blink "Wait, what?"

He said it again. "I said if I were being pepper-sprayed or waterboarded, I'd do or tell them whatever they want to make it stop!"

I'd gotten the gold, diamonds, cake, bacon, and NOW I had sex on top of it! "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. One more time, please?"

The rest of the crew knew I'd scored a direct hit and sunk his battleship. They started laughing. And he paused as he realized what he'd said.

His shoved the throttle to OVERDRIVE and...I kid you not...he pulled Jack Bauer out of his ass.

No, really. He did. "Look, when you're on a timeline, you need to use techniques that work!"

By now, I was tripping on endorphins. I called him on it, said "I'm sorry, but this is reality, not '24'. There are no ticking timebombs. What works is treating the suspect like a human being and taking TIME to get what you need from them."

"But we need the intel now!"

"What if they don't have the intel?" I asked. "What if they just don't have the information we're asking for?"

"Well, they can check that..." he replied.

I paused for a moment and just stared. "I love your circular logic," I said, and went to wash out my coffee mug.

It seems that the media is still refusing to cover nearly ANYTHING regarding SOPA. I have a fix for that?

Four, 55 gallon barrels. One marked with two letter S on all four sides, on top of each other. The next with T and O on all four sides, then O and P, then P and A. Fill all four barrels with concrete. Load them on to hand-trucks. Wheel them out into the street in Times Square, the National Mall and other high-traffic areas, and stagger them so the words can be seen in all directions. Set them up so they completely block traffic.

Make sure you don't have any wires or anything hanging out, that'd totally freak everyone and put you in jail. Just block traffic.